Ashland Inc. ASH recently announced the completion of its Avoca business divestment to Mane effective March 14, 2025. The terms of this transaction were not disclosed.

ASH’s Avoca business provides sclareolide, a fragrance fixative, and a range of contract manufacturing capabilities from two production facilities in North Carolina and Wisconsin. Avoca was the last business line under Ashland remaining from the previous acquisition of Pharmachem. Avoca, being a strong player in this space, has a dedicated team and manufacturing capabilities to meet customer needs. 

The divestment is in sync with ASH’s efforts to optimize its portfolio, focus on core operations and improve margins. The company noted, earlier, that the Avoca business remained challenged over the past few quarters as customers have moved from plant-based to lower-cost bio-based materials. 

ASH stock has lost 40.2% in the past year compared with the 4.6% decline of the industry.

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For fiscal 2025, ASH expects sales to be between $1.90 billion and $2.05 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is projected in the range of $430-$470 million.

ASH’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

ASH currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Ingevity Corporation NGVT, Axalta Coating Systems AXTA and Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS. While NGVT and AXTA sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each at present, CRS carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ingevity’s current-year earnings is pegged at $4.45 per share. NGVT beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average earnings surprise being 202.9%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Axalta’s current-year earnings is pegged at $2.51 per share. AXTA surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 16.28%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Carpenter Technology’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $6.95 per share. CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 15.7%. Its shares have soared 168.6% in the past year.






 

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Ashland Inc. (ASH) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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Ingevity Corporation (NGVT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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